NJ Man Pleads Guilty in I-78 Road Rage Shooting

By Jack Tobias

A New Jersey man charged with firing a shot at another car along Interstate 78 in Lower Saucon in March pleaded guilty Wednesday, had his bail revoked and was taken to Northampton County Prison despite his attorney's warning that his client is a suicide risk, according to a published report.

Judge Michael Koury revoked bail for Lee Kish, 66, following his guilty plea, The Morning Call reported.

Kish's shot did not hit the other driver, according to court records. Kish is from the Union County community of Fanwood, northeast of Plainfield.

The records say that shortly before 4 p.m. March 13, a 39-year-old Bethlehem woman driving on eastbound Interstate 78 near the Route 412 exit encountered Kish driving a silver-colored, compact, four-door SUV with New Jersey license plates. He was going about 40 mph in the left lane and swerving close to a tractor-trailer in the right lane.

The woman blew her car horn at Kish, who responded by giving her the middle finger and taking off "at a high rate of speed," records said.

As the woman continued east in the left lane and began to pass Kish's SUV in the area of the Route 33 interchange, she heard a loud bang. The SUV then "sped off, again at a high rate of speed."

The woman, who was not injured, pulled over a short time later to call 911. Troopers who responded found a single bullet hole in her vehicle's passenger side rear door.

Kish told police that he was the victim in the incident, though he admitted that he never called police to report what had happened.

Kish said he was driving home from Upper Macungie Township when his car was passed by two vehicles that were weaving in and out of traffic. After they passed, he said, he noticed that his mirror had been damaged.